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Sydney's Mike Pyke ruled out of Cats clash

Sydney will again be without Mike Pyke for Thursday's match against Geelong as the first-choice ruckman struggles to overcome a hamstring strain.

Pyke has been on the sidelines since sustaining the injury in round seven, missing the Swans' subsequent wins over Hawthorn and Essendon.

Despite being initially told by medical staff that it was just minor, coach John Longmire said the Canadian big man was still "not quite right" and would not be fit to play at the SCG.

"He still hasn't come along to the point we'd like him to," Longmire said on Monday.

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"It's a bit back-related as well.

"What we initially thought would only be one week has turned into four weeks.

"We're hoping that he'll be right next week.

"He's running, but he's not able to take the next step in the sprint work and change the direction that he needs to do before the ball work.

"We're hoping to get that stage into him over the weekend so he's ok for next week."

Inexperienced recruit Tom Derickx has been shouldering the burden in the ruck for the Swans, battling through what Longmire described as a very steep learning curve for the 26-year-old.

"After playing only two games at the (Richmond) Tigers and then coming up to us, even though he was a bit more mature as far as age is concerned, he's still learning the game very much," the coach said.

"He's been good, he's been solid. He's been doing his job and keeping it pretty simple and creating a contest in the middle of the ground.

"This week, once again, he gets another challenge up against (Dawson) Simpson and (Hamish) McIntosh - two quality ruckman and two big blokes as well."

After enduring a poor start to the season with a single win in the opening four rounds, the Swans have strung together five successive wins and now sit just outside the top four behind Gold Coast.

While the 2012 premiers head into Thursday's game coming off a bye, Longmire put his troops through their paces in an intense training session on Sunday.

The break had particularly benefitted stars Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett, Longmire said, who are still recovering from injury.

"They've been able to train right through this two-week block, so that's been the pleasing thing," Longmire said.